Weekly edition 16 February

Some shippers off the rails after DP World temporary Botany line closure

STEVEDORING company DP World has offered a rebate to at least one shipping line for disruptions caused by the temporary closure of its rail line at Port Botany.

Victoria puts faith in Hastings to cope with exports boom in next 20 years

TWO of Victoria’s most influential maritime figures were among the keynote speakers at the fifth Intermodal Asia 2012 conference, held at the Intercontinental Hotel in Melbourne last week.

Australia’s LNG boom comes at a price

OIL AND gas workers can command decent salaries as global investors continue to pump money into new projects for a world still hungry for fossil fuels, but in Australia workers can really reap financial rewards.

Obstructive residents force port redevelopment into the regions

MAJOR city ports in Australia will be negatively impacted by the “inevitable” effects of urban encroachment, Asiaworld Shipping Services director Ken Fitzpatrick says.

Wärtsilä design concepts for global shipping of the future

FINNISH power solutions company Wärtsilä has presented Australian delegates with three innovative concept designs for ships in the uncertain future.

Scrapping picks up as box lines suffer on rates

CONTAINERSHIP scrapping is forecast to pick up sharply this year after surprisingly low levels of demolition in 2011 despite rapidly deteriorating freight markets

Box lines fight to restore battered freight returns

CONTAINER lines are engaged in a major push to restore freight rates after a drive for market share last year erupted into a price war.

Politicians said to be eroding world trade

THE INTERNATIONAL Union of Marine Insurance has criticised politicians for restricting global trade through sanctions and regional regulation.

Shipping firms use Chapter 11 to buy time

A RAPID increase in tactical Chapter 11 filings for shipping companies seeking to take advantage of market improvements looks set to emerge over the next six months.

Dutch Court ruling confirms arrest-friendly jurisdiction

THE DUTCH Supreme Court has ruled that a ship may be arrested as security under the 1952 Arrest Convention even if it is not a sistership to the vessel giving rise to the dispute between the two parties.

Delays hit FMC study on EU conference ban

PUBLICATION of an eagerly awaited US study on the impact of maritime competition reform in Europe has been held up after government cutbacks in Washington caused severe printing delays.

Tonnage glut weakens Stolt Tankers

A GLUT of tonnage in the chemical tanker market means “tough” times for Oslo-listed Stolt Nielsen’s tanker division, Stolt Tankers, although its fourth quarter 2011 operating profit of US$7m represents an increase on US$6.6m for the third quarter.

Cruise safety culture to come under scrutiny

THE COSTA Concordia casualty and the incident in Norway last northern summer when a fire on board a Hurtigruten ferry left two crew members dead are being linked to poor application of the International Safety Management Code.

Japan’s steel output set to fall in 2012

JAPAN’s crude steel production will continue to fall in 2012, with domestic demand soft and the strong yen weakening exports, said an industry group.

Dry bulk values set to level out for newbuilds and secondhand

SECONDHAND dry bulk ship values are on the cusp of stabilising after steadily declining for a year and a half, as pricing trends follow the newbuilding market where falling contract values have started to level out as yards reach build cost levels

Markets this week

Dry bulk on the rise but tankers to stay flat

Forklift firm tests new electronic fleet system

AN AUSTRALIAN manufacturer is road-testing a new system on 16 battery-electric vehicles.

Gladstone takes delivery of Australia’s largest mobile harbour crane

ON FEBRUARY 13, Queensland stevedore NSS took delivery of a Liebherr Mobile Harbour Crane (LHM 550 Litronic), the latest addition to its fleet of port equipment.

Ex-stevedore now advising miners on containerisation

Oz Minerals and Hillgrove Resources recently announced plans for containerised supply chains through Flinders Ports at Adelaide. The copper producers are at the pointy end of a growing movement amongst miners around the country. MIKE FOLEY spoke to consultants, port operators and suppliers.

POAGS unit loads with ships’ cranes

POAGS entered the container tippler market after Flinders had worked with engineers RAM and Rotainer to install the breakthrough machines at Port Adelaide.

Export of sealed nickel containers

MERCHANT Shipping provides what is currently a unique service in Australia. Rather than tippling containers of concentrate into bulk carriers at port, Merchant loads ships with laden containers of nickel concentrate for transport to Jinchuan Group, in China.

Guidelines on reefer box testing after problems

Box owners join forces with TT Club to combat counterfeit refrigerant, reports SYLVIA TRAGANIDA

Casualty briefs

16 February 2012

Somali piracy costs world economy an estimated US$7bn

THE ECONOMIC cost of Somali piracy last year came to somewhere between US$6.6bn-US$6.9bn,with about 80% of the bill falling on the shipping industry, according to research compiled by a US non-governmental organisation.

Clubs aim to push pilot error up regulatory agenda

BETTER regulation for ships’ pilots internationally will be the focus of a new push by marine mutual insurers which are counting the mounting cost of pilot error.

Costa Concordia is likely to prompt regulatory reforms

Historic precedents such as Titanic, Herald of Free Enterprise, Exxon Valdez and Erika suggest the outcry of ‘something must be done’ will be answered, reports DAVID OSLER

Iraqi oil exports hit record high in 2011

IRAQI crude exports increased to record levels last year, as 790.5m barrels of oil crossed the country’s borders, equivalent to 2.17m barrels per day.

The LNG re-export club welcomes new member

Ports in Belgium, Spain and the US re-ship gas to Asia for a premium price, reports CLAIRE WRIGHT

UK seafarer training survives cuts

THE UK shipping industry has welcomed the government’s pledge to continue to fund seafarer training, after shipping minister Mike Penning told parliament in a written statement that he had allocated £12m (US$18.7m) a year to the Support for Maritime Training Scheme (SMarT).

Japan’s big three wade in red ink

JAPAN’S three major diversified shipping lines waded through red ink in the first nine months of their current fiscal years, as higher costs from the strong yen and fuel oil bills, as well as declining freight rates, forced them to revise downwards their already substantial projections for full-year losses.

Why shipping needs to see a shrink

Reluctance to cut Asia-Europe box capacity sees critics question industry’s sanity, reports GAVIN VAN MARLE

Asian yards showcase LNG-powered ultra-large containership designs

ASIAN yards are rushing out designs for gas-powered container vessels, despite having no takers – at least not just yet.

Getting the balance between size and safety

Cruiseships may have as many as 12 decks and a large number of stairs, elevators and other exits. It is not just a question of whether there are enough lifeboats or rafts, but whether passengers will have time to gain access to them, writes CLAY MAITLAND*

Shortsea shipping a pipe dream for US

Modal shift towards the sea has yielded a mixed bag of successes and failures, writes NIKO WIJNOLST*